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Steve Harvey moves awards to accommodate fan base

Jonathan Landrum Jr. Associated Press

Posted:
08/06/2014 01:02:45 PM EDT

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FILE - This Aug. 10, 2013 file photo shows talk show host and comedian Steve Harvey speaking at the 11th Annual Ford Neighborhood Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada. Harvey is hosting the 12th annual national convention in Atlanta for the first time. The four-day event will be held at Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center, kicking off on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The Neighborhood Awards, which recognizes small-town business people, is expected to draw about 150,000 attendees. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Invision /AP, File)

ATLANTA (AP) — Steve Harvey thought moving his annual Neighborhood Awards from Las Vegas to Atlanta would be more economically feasible for his loyal radio listeners to attend.

"Probably 90 percent of my radio listeners are east of the Mississippi River," the actor and comedian said. "Vegas was great to us. But I thought if we moved this to a hot city like Atlanta, economically we could save people a lot of money."

Harvey is hosting the 12th annual national convention in Atlanta for the first time. The four-day event will be held at Philips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center, kicking off on Thursday.

The Neighborhood Awards, which recognizes small-town business people, is expected to draw about 150,000 attendees.

Harvey called the cross-country move logical, because 2.1 million listeners of his "Steve Harvey Morning Show" are within a seven-hour drive radius from Atlanta.

Along with a shorter commute, ticket prices are being reduced by half compared to last year's cost of admission.

"We gave the award show back to the people," said Rushion McDonald, who created the awards with Harvey. The event originated in Los Angeles under the name Hoodie Awards in 2001 and spent nine years in Las Vegas, bringing out celebs including Tyler Perry, Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson.

But the primary initiative behind the awards is to honor people and businesses that uplift their neighborhoods. The fan-nominated awards offer 12 categories including best church, beauty salon, barbecue restaurant, community leader, high school, barbershop and church choir.

"This is like an unpretentious Grammy Awards," Hamilton said. "I'm proud to be a part of an awards that uplifts every day, hardworking people. I love coming here to perform and see others do the same."

Harvey, who started from humble beginnings and launched a successful career in entertainment, also wants regular folks to experience the limelight of the red carpet prior to the awards, which takes place Saturday night.

"This is to give the common man and business owner a round of applause," Harvey said. "I've been walking down red carpets for so many years, getting awards. I've been very fortunate. I think recognizing the common man for their hard work is a great thing."

Moving forward, Harvey and McDonald want to expand the brand of the awards. That's why they changed the name from Hoodie to Neighborhood Awards for last year's event.

"It's just so hard to explain Hoodie," he said. "It's a lot easier to explain Neighborhood Awards. We're still dealing with general marketing dollars. We had to make it more understandable."

About 30 radio stations from across the country will broadcast the show live starting Thursday. For the first time, the show will be streamed on Harvey's website or Neighborhood Awards free app.

Ultimately, the hope is to have the awards televised in the near future.

"This move is to educate what the Neighborhood Awards is about," McDonald said. "We want to show how the awards is impacting everyday people."